Weaving two strands of filament, usually called the weft and the warp, generally makes woven textiles. A third strand, the pile, is included to make woven carpet. The pile can be formed of free ends or of loops. Sometimes the loops of the pile are cut to form tufts. Tufts are also sometimes inserted individually rather than as part of the continuous weave, such as by stitching the tufts to a previously woven or non-woven fabric, or by needle-punching fibers into a woven or non-woven substrate.
For many woven and non-woven fabrics, it is desirable to apply a backing to the fabric. Backings are applied to carpets, carpet tiles, moldable carpets, liners, covers, mats, moldable mats, rugs, moldable rugs, and other applications. Backings can be used to obtain fiber-lock performance and tuft-lock performance, give stability and structural integrity to the fabric, afford non-skid characteristics, and provide various levels of flame retardancy. A structural layer, such as fiberglass, can be incorporated into the backing layer for further strength and dimensional stability.
Traditionally, latex or hot melt adhesives have been used for backing of fabrics and especially for backing of carpets, mats, and rugs. Both adhesives provide strength, penetration, and flexibility; key criteria in the selection of a backing material. Both adhesives, however, have drawbacks.
Conventionally-used latex requires the use of high-energy drying ovens, which increases operating costs. In addition, latex-based products lose strength when subjected to water and regain only a portion of their strength when dry. In addition to these drawbacks generally associated with latex, there can be further product-specific drawbacks. For example, the existing products on the market for the washable mat and rug business use a latex backing, but sacrifice fiber-lock and tuft-lock performance in order to achieve the desired non-skid and machine-wash properties.
Conventionally-used hot melt applications require the use of special compounding equipment, which increases operating costs. In addition, hot melt requires the use of additives such as tackifiers and heat stabilizers which increase product cost and also degrade and impair product performance over time.
Another material often used for backing for carpets is polyvinyl chloride. This material, however, as is well known, creates smoke and extremely toxic fumes upon combustion and is therefore undesirable for indoor use.
Accordingly, a need exists for a backing material that is strong, durable, inexpensive, recyclable, able to be applied to fabrics without the use of drying ovens, able to eliminate the need for undesirable processing additives, and able to incorporate custom additives without product degradation or impairing performance as needed for specific product enhancements. The present invention meets this need. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become clear upon a reading of the attached specification.